Category Archives: Democratic Republic of the Congo

‘Death by a thousand cuts’: vast expanse of rainforest lost in 2018

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Pristine forests are vital for climate and wildlife but trend of losses is rising, data shows

Millions of hectares of pristine tropical rainforest were destroyed in 2018, according to satellite analysis, with beef, chocolate and palm oil among the main causes.

The forests store huge amounts of carbon and are teeming with wildlife, making their protection critical to stopping runaway climate change and halting a sixth mass extinction. But deforestation is still on an upward trend, the researchers said. Although 2018 losses were lower than in 2016 and 2017, when dry conditions led to large fires, last year was the next worst since 2002, when such records began.

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Rumour and violence rife as Congo Ebola outbreak surges out of control

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Attacks on health centres are impeding efforts to contain an epidemic that has claimed nearly 900 lives in nine months

Archippe Kamuha knows the signs of Ebola well: diarrhoea, bleeding, persistent fever. But if the 25-year-old developed such symptoms, she would not contact specialist health workers.

“I know that if I go [to a treatment centre], I’ll die. All my friends who go there don’t come home, they die,” said Kamuha, whose home town, Butembo, in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, is at the centre of the country’s escalating Ebola outbreak.

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As Ebola kills in Africa, in the west lies over vaccines beguile the complacent | Mark Honigsbaum

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The epidemic in the DRC has been impossible to contain because of the spread of anti-vax myths

With the possible exception of quinine, for centuries the only treatment for malaria, and antibiotics, vaccines have saved more lives than any other intervention in medical history. Yet, from New York’s Brooklyn to Camden in north London to Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, vaccines are in retreat, shunned by populations who seemingly have little sense of the risks they are running with their own or other people’s lives.

Why this should be so is one of the conundrums of our age. Is it all the fault of social media and anti-vax propaganda that has taken root on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube? Or has society grown complacent about the risks that infectious diseases posed to previous generations, when it was common for children to be paralysed by polio or rendered deaf or brain-damaged by measles?

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Man facing deportation from Britain to DRC wins another reprieve

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Habib Bazaboko, who has lived in the UK since childhood, was due to fly on Friday

A judge has halted the removal of a man who has lived in the UK since childhood just hours before he was due to be deported to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country with one of the worst human rights records in the world. It is the second time he has been within hours of deportation within a week.

Habib Bazaboko, 39, a stonemason, fled to the UK at the age of 11 after his father was murdered in his home country. He witnessed the murder and was left deeply traumatised.

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Emergency panel meets as Congo Ebola outbreak gathers pace

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Faltering national response to epidemic prompts experts to consider official announcement of public health crisis

Experts will convene for an emergency meeting on Friday to determine whether the recent escalation of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should be declared a global health crisis.

More than eight months into the epidemic, which has killed 751 people, agencies warned the disease is still not under control. The response to the outbreak has been complicated by conflict, political instability, and distrust of Ebola services.

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Man who fled to UK as child has deportation to DRC halted

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Habib Bazaboko is returned to removal centre instead of boarding a flight at Heathrow in apparent U-turn by Home Office

A man who has lived in the UK since childhood and was due to be deported on Saturday on a 6.55pm flight to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country with one of the worst human rights records in the world, has been given an eleventh-hour stay of execution.

Habib Bazaboko, a stonemason, fled to the UK at the age of 11 after his father was murdered in his home country. He has previous convictions, including for grievous bodily harm, but has not committed any crime for nine years.

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British watchdog launches inquiry into WWF abuse allegations

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Charity Commission to assess whether money sent abroad was subject to due diligence as German MPs urge funding halt

Britain’s charity regulator has launched a formal investigation into the World Wide Fund for Nature, following allegations the conservation group is implicated in human rights abuses against people in Africa and Asia.

The inquiry by the Charity Commission will assess whether WWF’s UK arm followed “due diligence” in ensuring that money sent abroad did not contribute to abuse.

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Foreign Office admits it doesn’t know fate of DRC returnees

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Internal emails show Home Office asking colleagues to confirm they are not aware of persecutions

Home Office officials have been trying to persuade their Foreign Office colleagues to say publicly that it is safe to return people to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite the country having one of the worst human rights records in the world.

Internal emails obtained by the human rights organisation Justice First, and seen by the Guardian, show Home Office officials requesting that their British embassy colleagues in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, issue a statement saying they have no information that people are being persecuted after returning from the UK to the DRC.

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Ranger killed weeks after reopening of Virunga national park

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Park in DRC was shut last year for more than eight months after series of attacks on staff

A forest ranger has been killed in Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, weeks after the reserve was reopened to tourists.

Virunga, home to critically endangered mountain gorillas as well as hundreds of other rare species, was shut for more than eight months for a review of security after a series of attacks on staff last year.

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Arsonists attack Ebola clinics in DRC as climate of distrust grows

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Health agencies re-evaluate approach after attacks on treatment centres in North Kivu

A second clinic serving patients affected by the escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been set alight, as concerns mount over widespread distrust of health agencies.

Seven months since the start of the outbreak, which has claimed 548 lives, experts warned that the virus is still not under control and said suspicion of agencies is severely undermining Ebola services.

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Ebola vaccine offered in exchange for sex, Congo taskforce meeting told

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As experts urge global warning over outbreak, women and girls in Beni report alleged exploitation

An unparalleled Ebola vaccination programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become engulfed in allegations of impropriety, amid claims that women are being asked for sexual favours in exchange for treatment.

Research by several NGOs has revealed that a deep mistrust of health workers is rife in DRC and gender-based violence is believed to have increased since the start of the Ebola outbreak in August.

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Congo’s election: a defeat for democracy, a disaster for the people

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In accepting the controversial outcome of DRC’s presidential election, the global community has failed the country

The major players in the international community have accepted the outcome of January’s elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the name of stability. In doing so, they have failed the Congolese people.

Moreover, they have fallen short of the aspirations of the UN’s sustainable development goals, which call for “accountable and inclusive institutions”.

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Tshisekedi calls for ‘a Congo for all’ after disputed election

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As Kabila wraps presidential sash around successor, doubts linger about vote’s credibility

The new president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has called for national reconciliation after being sworn in as successor to Joseph Kabila in the country’s first transfer of power via an election in 59 years of independence.

Felix Tshisekedi said to cheers from thousands of supporters on the lawn of the presidential palace in Kinshasa: “We want to build a strong Congo, turned toward its development in peace and security. A Congo for all, in which everyone has a place.”

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DRC court confirms Felix Tshisekedi winner of presidential election

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Opponent Martin Fayulu rejects ruling, saying the court has enabled a ‘constitutional coup d’etat’

The constitutional court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has confirmed Felix Tshisekedi’s presidential election win, dismissing a challenge from another opposition leader who had accused him and the ruling party of stitching up the result.

Second-placed Martin Fayulu rejected the provisional tally for DRC’s election released last week, saying it was the product of a secret deal between Tshisekedi and outgoing President Joseph Kabila to cheat him out of a clear win of more than 60%.

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Senior WHO official accused of using Ebola cash to pay for girlfriend’s flight

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World Health Organization launches inquiry after claims of ‘legendary’ corruption, including racism and sexism

Claims that a senior employee at the World Health Organization misused Ebola funds to fly his girlfriend to west Africa are among a tide of allegations under investigation by the agency.

An internal inquiry has been launched by the WHO following a series of anonymous whistleblower emails that alleged widespread racism, sexism and misspending.

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Ebola cases in Congo expected to double amid fears outbreak could cross borders

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With health system at breaking point, uncertainty over how virus is being transmitted prompt fears it could range beyond DRC

The number of Ebola cases recorded each day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is expected to more than double, with concern mounting that uncertainty over how the virus is being transmitted could result in it spreading to neighbouring countries.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated its warning that there is a very high risk of the outbreak spreading not only across DRC but also to Uganda, Rwanda and even South Sudan. The heightened danger of transmission is due to extensive travel between the affected areas.

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African Union calls on DRC to delay election announcement

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Bloc has ‘serious doubts’ over vote, for which declared runner up has called a recount

The African Union has issued a surprise last-minute demand for the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s government to suspend the announcement of final results of the deeply disputed presidential election.

DRC’s constitutional court is poised to rule as early as Friday on a challenge filed by the election’s declared runner-up. Martin Fayulu has requested a recount, alleging fraud.

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African nations call for recount in DRC election

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SADC also urges government of national unity to ease crisis after poll result contested

A powerful regional body of African states has called for a recount in the contested presidential election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The unexpected move underlines growing worries that instead of marking a turning point for the troubled country, the 30 December vote and the deepening political crisis it has triggered will instead lead to a slide into anarchy and violence.

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Why Africa’s ageing leaders are keeping a close watch on DRC power struggle

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The long-awaited and controversial election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could set the tone for the rest of the continent, with fears that democracy may be the loser

After a tumultous week, the streets of the cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are likely to be quiet on Sunday as congregations file into churches to hear priests and preachers call for the Lord’s blessing on a troubled land.

Few doubt that the DRC is at a critical moment. The long-delayed elections that were finally held on 30 December could still be a turning point, leading the resource-rich nation to a better future. Or they could send the vast central African country, which has not known a peaceful transfer of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960, back into anarchy.

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